This invention relates generally to devices for providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or insufflation, and more specifically relates to devices having a physical barrier or shield between the mouth of the rescuer and the victim when providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to victims of suffocation, asphyxiation, cardiac arrest, drowning and the like.
Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is a first aid technique and a preferred method for reviving a non-breathing victim, when life or death may be determined from actions taken within seconds, by rapidly delivering large volumes of exhaled air under pressure to inflate the lungs and reactivate the normal breathing process. In this method, the victim is placed on his or her back, the mouth is opened to check and clear any airway obstruction and making sure the tongue is not lodged in the passageway to be used and is positioned in the lower cavity inside the mouth, the chin is pulled forward, the head is tilted backward, the nose or nostrils are pinched closed, then an air tight seal is made with the lips of the rescuer and the victim, and the rescuer commences to evenly exhale a deep breath under pressure into the victim's mouth; and then the lip seal is broken to enable another deep breath to be taken and the nose air pathways are opened in the event of any exhaling by the victim; and the process is repeated, until hopefully, the victim is able to exhale and to finally inhale unaided by the rescuer.
In the past, possible rescuers were reluctant to engage in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for fear of contracting disease or illness from such contact with the victim. Generally, however, the person would assume the risk when there was no other alternative for saving the life of the victim. The individual attitude is considerably different today, for there is a mortal fear, which may or may not have any basis in fact, that any close or intimate contact could result in being stricken with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (“AIDS”) virus, particularly if the victim is suspected of being a drug user or a homosexual. Presently there is no known cure and only certain death after a person contracts the AIDS virus, and the number of reported AIDS cases are dramatically increasing throughout the world. In view of this, people will avoid or just refuse to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation without any safeguard for shielding against direct and intimate contact. The subject invention provides such protection for the person giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or practicing this technique.
Various devices have been devised to shield the rescuer when applying mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,428 (1974), Sherman, discloses a mouth-to-mouth resuscitator comprising a flexible face mask having a central opening formed therein and extends over the mouth area of the person administering artificial respiration. A flexible tubular member is attached to the periphery of the central opening and depends therefrom for placement in the mouth of the victim. The tubular member acts as a one way valve and inflates when delivering air and collapses for preventing any air or fluid flow in the reverse direction.
In Sherman there is no immediate closure action of the air pathway through the valve, and moist air or fluids from the victim could flow or seep back to the rescuer. Moreover, the face mask of this device could sufficiently contact the mouth and nose to partially or fully prevent the victim from exhaling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,457 (1977), Davidson, utilizes a face shield having a central mouth opening formed therein. The shield conforms to the contours of the face in the mouth and nose area, and particularly provides a covering over the patient's lips to permit mouth-to-mouth resuscitation without intimate contact. However, moist air and/or fluids from the victim could still be transferred to the rescuer.
None of the aforesaid Patents provide a resuscitator device having a one way valve which instantly closes after air is delivered to the victim, to prevent any back flow of air or liquid from the victim to the rescuer, and includes means for ensuring that the victim is not inhibited from exhaling.
Furthermore, these and other resuscitator devices often include a stiff tube that is inserted into the victim's mouth to create a route for airflow to pass from the rescuer to the victim. These tubes extend into the victim's mouth to ensure that the victim's upper and lower teeth remain separated. However, there is a conflict between the size of the tube to ensure enough air passes from the rescuer to the victim, that the tube remains in place, and the pressure the tube exerts on the victim's teeth. None of the prior patents provide a guard for the victim's teeth.
Furthermore, resuscitator devices are designed to prevent the spread of diseases from the one of the rescuer and the victim and the other. However, when the rescuer performs mount-to-mouth resuscitation in a patient, the rescuer must firmly press his lips to the patient's lips, albeit with an intermediate shield separating them, so as to create a tight seal and prevent air from leaking from the victim's mount and not entering the victim's lungs.
When performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, there is always a chance that the victim may recover and move violently or have an uncontrolled muscle reflex. This presents a hazard to the rescuer and the victim as their teeth are in close and unprotected proximity to each other. This presents the potential for the rescuer or victim to chip or break a tooth if there is sufficient force or movement exerted by the victim. None of the prior patents provide a guard between the victim's teeth and the rescuer's teeth to protect them from injury.